Location: Kolkata, India
Area: 31,000 sq. ft. approx.
RCTC was established in Calcutta, British India (now Kolkata, India) to promote and foster the sport of horseracing in the sub-continent is currently one of the largest race venues in India. Of all the stands (galleries made for race viewing), the RESERVE STAND was completed in 1921 with typical Edwardian Architecture, suitably adapted to suit the Indian context.
The club wanted to renovate and restore part of this stand as well as modernize the club activities in order to give back to the Reserve Stand its lost glory, a multi-factoral approach was adopted. The usage pattern of the building earlier was studied viz- a- viz the activities currently proposed to be conducted in the club, based on which relevant spaces were identified and constraints were resolved. The process was undertaken with a philosophical approach, to understand first, what people valued most in the existing old building, beyond its practical utility, and then use the same understanding to ensure any work undertaken would cause minimum damage to features that hold the building, yet make it comfortably functional and easy to maintain
